A Shadow of a Thief
by SaxyGirl
Summary: A retelling of the Dragonborn's time with the Thieves' Guild, as seen by Brynjolf and a fellow female thief (OC).
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Greetings and salutations! This story is a sort of prequel to my other story, The Dragonborn and the Companion, though both can be read as stand alone or in order either way._

_I own nothing, save my Dragonborn, Elise, and my sneaky Shadow, Eshne._

_Also - I didn't feel I could do Brynjolf's accent justice in type, so feel free to mentally edit his talking parts to his normal sexy self._

The sounds of water dripping far off in the cave slowly pulled the young Nord woman from sleep. She stretched and rolled over in the bed, arm flinging out and reaching only to find nothing. Her eyes darted open and she looked around the large cavern that made up the bedroom where she and her lover slept. She located him across the room at a small table turned desk concentrating on a document. "Come back to bed," she cooed, voice still rusty with sleep.

He glanced in her direction and smirked. "I would love to, but if we are to ever make a name for ourselves I must stay on top of this." He turned his attention back to the papers in his hands and she frowned.

She took a moment to stretch, arching her back and making sure the furs covering her slipped down just enough to be tantalizing, if he happened to look in her direction. He did not and she sighed. "Linwe," she called, "I am cold. Warm me up?"

If she had not been watching him from the side of her eyes she would have missed the way he rolled his in exasperation before turning to her fully. Her eyebrows drew together at his reaction but she held her tongue when he stood and walked over to her. She stretched luxuriously against the furs on his bed and grinned saucily as he neared her. Her bright red hair was spread across the pillow and her blue eyes blinked up at him. He winked and leaned down and she angled her head, lips slightly puckered to meet his. She was disappointed when he tugged the furs back up around her and turned and walked away.

"Linwe," she whined. The Altmer laughed and threw a look at her over his shoulder before resuming his seat.

He turned to face her and his eyes rolled over the shape of her body under the blankets. She shivered at his look and he licked his lips. "As much as I would love to climb back in that bed and stay with you the remainder of the day," he paused and winked again, "and several days thereafter, I am afraid I have a job for you."

She perked up and leaned on one elbow to look at him, unabashed when the furs fell down to reveal a good portion of her nude form. "A job?" she asked. She had been a member of the Shadows for nearly three months and had only received petty assignments so far. She hoped that this would be a good one. "A good job?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

He nodded. "Very much. Not only a good job, but one that will be key with cementing our foothold here in Skyrim."

She grinned, if she had known it would only take sleeping with the leader to finally get a good job she would have rolled into bed with him a lot sooner. "So," she asked as she pushed herself out of bed and began gathering her clothes and armor from the floor. "What is this good job?"

He reached out as she neared him and pulled her down into his lap. She shifted a bit against the leather of his armor and raised an eyebrow at him. "You, my dear, are going to infiltrate the Thieves' Guild."

Both of her eyebrows rose to nearly her hairline and she eyed him. "Oh I am, am I? I suppose I shall just pop by the Palace on my way out and propose to Jarl Ulfric that I should lead his troops as well."

He smacked her on the rear and then leaned forward, nuzzling her neck and she bit back a moan. "Enough sass from you. You _are_ going to infiltrate the Guild. I have faith that you will be able to gain entrance."

"And uh," she swallowed hard as his tongue danced across the skin of her neck, "What am I going to do while I am there?"

"Simple," he murmured against the shell of her ear. "You are going to insure that they continue to collapse."

"Is that all?" she asked, voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Do not worry; I will be sending you messages and information to help you along the way. Between your work inside and mine here we will have no issues securing a hold over Skyrim for the Summerset Shadows." His hand slid against the bare skin of her abdomen and she groaned.

"I thought you did not have time for this?" she murmured.

She felt him smirk against her skin. "I said I did not have time to climb back into bed," he corrected.

"Well in that case," she responded, dropping her clothes and turning to embrace him.

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Brynjolf watched from the shadows of The Bee and Barb waiting for the newcomer that Elise had tipped him off to earlier. According to the Bosmer, she had been sitting atop the wall to the city when a traveler had arrived seeking entrance. His plant in the guards had attempted to shake her down and very nearly lost his hand in the process. In addition the woman's fingers had slipped into more than one pocket while she made her way through town. Elise seemed convinced this person would be a great new addition. Brynjolf was not sure he could trust the dark haired Elf considering some of her other acquaintances, but he was willing to give the woman a look for the sake of their friendship.

He took another sip of his ale, glancing towards the door when it clicked open. A Nord woman slipped in, her flame red hair pulled back in a tight braid and her green eyes darting around the inn quickly, assessing everybody inside. She wore leather armor and had two daggers strapped to her hips. His eyebrow rose when he noticed the bulging coin purse on her hip and he glanced at Elise to confirm his suspicions. A nod from the Bosmer had him sidling through the crowd, grin sliding across his lips as he moved to lean against the counter next to the stool she had perched herself on.

"Never done an honest day's work in your life for all that coin you are carrying. Eh, lass?" He smirked when she jolted in surprise and glanced at him, giving him a once over before frowning.

She opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Elise who had taken up residence on the newcomer's other side. "Ah come on now Bryn, I thought that line was special for me." She pouted at him and he rolled his eyes. The Nord woman glanced over at the Bosmer, her frown twisting into slight confusion.

Brynjolf grinned and shrugged. "Well, that is what you get for thinking," he quipped, drawing a laugh from Elise and a pair of raised eyebrows from the Nord.

"Do not mind him," Elise said, pulling the woman's attention back to her. "My name is Elise and this is Brynjolf. What is your name?" She propped one elbow on the counter and rested her chin on it, smiling widely at the other woman.

"Eshne," the Nord responded and then her eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip.

Interest piqued Brynjolf leaned slightly closer. "Little Fire, eh?" he asked, eyes rolling over her hair and then back to her face.

She frowned at him again and then her lip curled slightly in distaste. "Yes, what of it?" she snarled.

He shrugged and winked. "Not a thing," he assured her. His eyes darted up to Elise and she gave a barely there nod before he looked back to Eshne. "So, Little Fire," he commented, ignoring the angry look she gave him. "Interested in a business proposition?"

"Depends on the proposition," she shot back.

He grinned and tugged lightly on her braid. "Little Fire in more ways than one, eh?" he asked, eyes darting up to Elise. The Bosmer shrugged and turned away to speak with Keerava. He looked back to Eshne. "Meet me at my stall tomorrow when the market is open. I will give you all the details then," he instructed. She gave him a weird look and he pushed himself away from the bar.

"That is it?" she hissed, voice sounding a bit shrill. "Just 'meet me tomorrow'?" He winked at her again but said nothing more as he slipped into the shadows, far enough away for her to not notice him, but close enough to eavesdrop.

"You get used to him," Elise said, drawing Eshne's attention back to her. She took a long drink of her mead and then motioned for Eshne to do the same.

"I would rather get used to Molag Bal and Coldharbor," Eshne groused, earning a quiet chuckle from Elise. Brynjolf rolled his eyes at her comment, shifting slightly.

Elise raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "I have found there are only three reasons people come to Riften," she commented, earning a confused look from Eshne. "One, they are lost; two, to get married; or three, to join the Thieves' Guild. From the dressing down you gave the guard at the gate I would say you are not lost and I do not see an Amulet of Mara or a fiancée following you around, so my guess is you are here for option three," Elise answered.

Eshne frowned at her drink and did not respond.

"I could be reading the situation wrong though," Elise said, "But if I am not, then I highly recommend you meet Brynjolf tomorrow. He is the only way in." She finished her drink and dropped some coin on the counter then waved at Keerava and headed out the door. Brynjolf watched Eshne for several more minutes as she finished the last of her mead before paying Keerava for a room. Once the Nord has disappeared upstairs he slipped out of the inn.

Elise glanced up to find Brynjolf grinning at her as he walked into the Flagon later that night. "Well?" he asked as he neared the table where she sat with Delvin.

She waved to Vekel for a drink as he dropped into a chair. "Oh she will be by to see you tomorrow. Have no doubt about that," she told him, leaning back and taking a small sip of the mead Vekel had given her.

Brynjolf grinned and slapped Delvin on the back, causing the older man to nearly spit his drink across the table. "Two recruits in less than a month! How is that for your curse?" he asked.

"Not a good argument boy," Delvin retorted. "We used to have two recruits roll in a day."

"Ah, but how many stayed?" Brynjolf asked.

Delvin shrugged. "Enough," he said.

"I have a feeling about this one Del, just you wait. If she turns out even half as good as our little Elise here, then we struck gold!" The redhead grinned at Elise and she flushed, toying with her bottle. She knew most of the guild had a bit of respect for her now after completing the Goldenglow job, but some, namely Mercer and Vex, said she had gotten through it on pure dumb luck. She did not want to let anybody know just how close to the truth those two were.

"Brynjolf, there will be no more strays in this Guild," Mercer snarled from across the room. Elise jumped and glanced over at the hooded man where he sat in a secluded corner. Since she had joined the Thieves' Guild this was the only time she had seen him anywhere besides behind his desk.

"Come on, Mercer," Brynjolf retorted, "I did good with Elise."

Elise heard Mercer snort. "Look how long it too you to find her. And she is _not_ that good," the man responded.

"Mercer you know we need more members. How else are we supposed to fill the coffers?" Brynjolf shot back.

Mercer threw up his hands and rose from the chair. "Fine," he said, stalking over to glare down at the Nord man "But she gets a real test, not one of those damn parlor tricks you usually have the recruits go through."

"Have any suggestions?" Brynjolf asked.

The frown on Mercer's face grew and then switched to a smirk and he glanced at Elise who did her best not to shrink into her chair. "Send her with this one," he said, jerking his head at her. "Maybe between the two of them they will be able to take care of Honningbrew for Maven. And have them do some work for Vex and Delvin."

Brynjolf nodded and Mercer turned, sweeping out of the room with a bang of the door to the Cistern. Elise let out her breath and practically melted into her chair. "Sithis that man scares me," she muttered.

Brynjolf and Delvin chuckled. "He's only so hard on ya Lass because he can see the potential. If you were not worth his time he would ignore you," Brynjolf explained.

Elise frowned and glanced in the direction where Mercer had disappeared. "Sometimes I think that might be better."

"Ah, do not worry your pretty head about it," Delvin said. "Have a drink and relax. You will not see him again before you leave tomorrow _and_ you now have a traveling companion. Not bad."

"I suppose," Elise said, leaning against the table and propping her chin on her hand. "So Del," she asked, "Got any jobs around Whiterun?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews and follows! _

_Disclaimer in Ch. 1_

Eshne adjusted her leather armor and the daggers on her belt as she exited The Bee and Barb and made her way towards the market place. Several of the vendors called to her and she stopped to peruse their wares, not wanting it to be too obvious that she was going to Brynjolf's stall. She eventually made her way there and paused in front of him. He was leaning against it, the grin on his lips telling her that he knew she had been headed there the entire time.

She sighed, exasperated, "Yes, I am interested in your proposition. Do not be so smug about it."

"Unfortunately for you, Little Fire, I am always smug," he returned.

"Do not call me that," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But it suits you so well," he shot back, reaching out to tug on her braided hair.

Eshne fingered her hair and grinned slightly. "That is why I have the name I do," she said, more to herself than him, "because I was born with a shock of red hair that my mother thought looked like a little fire." Brynjolf grinned and she bit the inside of her lips, again cursing herself for slipping up around this man a second time. She reminded herself to focus on the task at hand and that Linwe was counting on her. "So what is this business proposition?" she asked.

"You will be accompanying Elise," Brynjolf stated and Eshne started when the other woman suddenly appeared next to her. The Elf had on traveling gear and her hair was pulled up in a tail.

"Getting better," Elise commented to Brynjolf and he rolled his eyes. She spun a ring between her fingers and Eshne gasped when she realized it was hers. "Sorry," Elise stated with no remorse at all, "practicing." She handed the ring back to Eshne and smirked at Brynjolf.

"Take her and go on and make yourself the best then," he ordered, motioning with his hands.

Elise snorted and turned to look at Eshne. "Interested?"

"Maybe, what are we doing?" The redhead adjusted her daggers again and eyed the pack that Elise had thrown over her shoulder.

"Little trip to Whiterun area. Nothing too scary," she answered. "A little fishing job, a little shill job, and one great big heist," she said, winking.

Eshne glanced over at Brynjolf and then back at Elise. "Alright, I am in."

Elise grinned. "Great, ready to leave now or do you need some time?"

"I can leave now," she answered. Elise waved at Brynjolf and the two women set off out the gates of Riften. They walked for some time, Elise ignoring the carriage in favor of exploring and hunting for both alchemy ingredients and game while they traveled.

"So tell me," Elise said after a few hours of traipsing along the road. "What brought you to the Guild?"

Eshne started and glanced over at the other woman, mind furiously working to come up with a lie, anything suitable and nowhere near the truth. "The thought of sticking my hands in the pockets of strangers just has this strange appeal to me," she stated finally, voice tinged with humor.

She heard Elise snort and then paused midstep when she felt Elise's hand on her shoulder. "You do not have to tell me," the dark haired woman stated. "We all have our secrets." A shadowed look fell over her face and Eshne wondered what she had lived through to put it there.

"I need a place to belong," she blurted out suddenly, surprising herself. Elise smiled encouragingly and Eshne swallowed at her sudden confession. In reality that had been what had driven her to join the Shadows. "I have not had anybody for a long time," she continued. "And I had taken to stealing to survive and thought well, since I am pretty good at it, why not make a living out of it?" It was dangerously close to the truth but something about this woman just compelled her to be honest.

Elise laughed. "Very practical," she said.

"What about you?" Eshne asked. "What brought _you_ to the Guild?"

Elise frowned and looked at the ground, kicking absently at a rock. She watched it skitter across the path and into the grass. "I need the distraction," she muttered finally. Eshne eyed her but did not comment.

The two continued on in silence until a great roar shattered the peaceful noise of the birds in the trees. Eshne fell back, yanking her daggers out and looking around frantically. Elise groaned and reached back, pulling off her bow. "Not again," she sighed, "why do they always seem to find me?"

Eshne gave her an odd look and then screamed when a dragon dropped into view above the trees. "Just stay back," Elise ordered and then took off, running _towards_ the dragon.

"What?" Eshne shrieked, running after Elise and yanking her off the side of the road. The two landed on the ground in the bushes.

"Let me up," Elise yelled, struggling to pull away.

"Sheogorath's ass you crazy bitch," Eshne retorted, wrapping her arms around the other woman tightly. "Brynjolf should have mentioned you have a death wish."

"Talos save me from righteous Nords," Elise muttered where her head was pushed into the dirt and weeds. "Let me up!" She thrashed around and managed to throw the larger woman off her. She was up and off like a shot before Eshne could even pull herself up from the ground.

Eshne ducked behind a tree, peeking out to watch Elise near the dragon and wondering just what she would tell Brynjolf when she returned to Riften alone. She highly doubted he would believe that Elise had wanted to be eaten by a dragon. She watched as Elise pulled up her bow and began firing at the great beast. She moved back behind the tree, unable to watch the carnage that she was sure was taking place. There were a lot of loud yells and she dared to glance around the tree just in time to watch Elise send an arrow through the eye of the beast. At the same time she opened her mouth and the sound that came out was inhuman and the burst of fire that followed even more so. Eshne could not tear her eyes away as the dragon gave one last shudder and then fell to the ground, dead.

Elise turned and started walking back toward her, eyes closed as swirls of brilliant white light surrounded her and the dragon all but dissolved behind her, leaving nothing but bones and a small pile of scales. Elise blinked her eyes open as she neared Eshne and the Nord fell back a few steps with a gasp as Elise's eyes were glowing bright white. She squeezed them closed and when she opened them again they were back to normal.

"What in the Nine Divines was that?" Eshne gasped out, mouth hanging open in shock and eyes darting back and forth between the dragon's skeleton and Elise.

Elise sighed and sat down on in the middle of the path, obviously worn out. "A dragon," she said.

"Not that part," Eshne growled. "The shiny bit afterward, the part where you got all glowy and the dragon dissolved." She waved her hands around as if to emphasize the point.

Elise chuckled bitterly. "I am the Dragonborn," she bit out. "I was absorbing its soul." She wavered a bit and started to fall over and Eshne hurried, catching her and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on," she said, "You cannot collapse in the middle of the road." She led her off to the side until she found a secluded glen and then helped her to sit. "Alright," Eshne ordered, "Back up and start over."

Elise sighed and fell over backwards, sprawled across the grass. Much of her hair had come out of the tail and scattered across the ground, mixing with the green blades. "I am the Dragonborn," she said. "I have known for," she paused and her brow furrowed in thought, "honestly I have lost count of the days since I found out. I have been doing my best to forget, and as soon as I do one of the bastards shows up and I have to fight it, and then I kill it, and then I absorb its soul." She rolled over onto her side and curled up tightly, arms wrapped around her legs. "And it is _terrible_," she whispered.

Eshne stood over the smaller woman and frowned. Being a Nord she was very familiar with the legend of the Dragonborn and she had heard rumors that one had surfaced, but a _Bosmer_? As much as she did not want to believe it, everything she had seen indicated that it was the truth. Gods did Akatosh have one hell of a sense of humor. A small whimper pulled her from her thoughts and she realized that Elise was sobbing quietly.

"What is it?" Eshne murmured, crouching down to run her fingers soothingly through Elise's dark locks. Elise did not answer, simply curled further in on herself and continued to weep. Eshne sat next to her and continued combing her hair in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

It was nearly dusk when Elise finally uncurled and sat up, rubbing the palms of her hands over tired eyes. "Apologies," the Elven woman said. "That always makes me emotional."

Eshne eyed her and then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Elise looked up at her, eyes wide. "You are not terrified?" she asked. Eshne frowned and shook her head. "Not going to tell me how blasphemous it is that an elf is the Dragonborn?" Again Eshne shook her head. "Not going to tell me that being able to absorb their souls is a gift and that I should relish in it?"

Eshne grabbed Elise's shoulders and the Bosmer stopped rambling to look at her. "I am not a dragon and I have no intentions of becoming one anytime soon," Eshne stated, smiling when Elise's lips quirked up into a partial grin, "so I have no reason to fear you. I am familiar with the stories of the Dragonborn, but nowhere does it say that the Dragonborn must be a Nord." Elise seemed to relax under her hands, the grin on her mouth growing, and Eshne continued, "And I have never experienced what you did when you killed that dragon; I am pretty sure I would remember something like that if I had, so how could I ever tell you what to feel if I have never felt it myself?"

Elise's eyes teared up again and she threw her arms around the Nord, squeezing her. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you, thank you." Eshne was not sure what she was being thanked for, but she returned the gesture.

Eventually Elise sat back and glanced around. "It is too late now to continue on. This place seems secure enough, we should make camp. If you want to start a fire I will go find some dinner." Eshne nodded and Elise slipped away.

When she returned several minutes later Eshne had a small fire going and Elise had two rabbits thrown over her shoulder. Eshne sat about helping her prepare the rabbits for dinner and chose not to comment when she saw Elise slip what appeared to be the dragon's scales and some of its bones into her pack.

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Brynjolf looked up from the potions he was straightening at his booth when a familiarly shrill voice cut through the marketplace. "I do not care who your mother is, you touch me again and you will be missing some fingers!"

Eshne stormed through the area, customers and vendors dodging quickly out of her way. "Making friends already, eh Little Fire?"

She exhaled sharply. "He _grabbed_ me. Nobody touches me without my permission. I do not care if his mother is Maven Black-Briar," she shot back.

Brynjolf hummed in response and glanced around. "Where is Elise?" he asked, worry slipping into his voice.

Eshne sighed and leaned against the wall around the marketplace. "She got a message while we were in Whiterun and sent me on ahead. Said she would probably be back in a week or so," Eshne answered, idly glancing around the market.

Brynjolf frowned. "Who was the message from?" he asked.

She shrugged. "She did not offer and I did not think it was my place to ask. She was going up to Dragonsreach when I left though, so maybe something to do with the Jarl?" She sighed and turned to face him. "Come on, I have to go report in to uh, Delvin and Vex, but for the life of me, I do not know who they are or where to find them."

Brynjolf grinned and reached over, hastily packing up his potions for the day and closing up his stall. "Come on Little Fire," he said, motioning dramatically, "Let me show you the city's finest little known establishment, the Ragged Flagon."

Eshne raised an eyebrow and followed him through the streets and down to the lower level of Riften before heading into the sewers. "This is the Ratway," he explained. "Deters all but those who are really interested in finding the place and makes for some nice protection without having to pay for it." She did not answer, simply continued to follow him through the twisting tunnels.

Finally he threw open the door and waved her in. "Welcome to the Ragged Flagon."

Eshne walked through the door and Brynjolf watched as she glanced around, taking in everything around her from the disused shop areas with broken furniture and cobwebs to the murky water that filled the place. He urged her forward, across the bridge and passed Dirge. "Name's Dirge," he said as she walked by him. "Mind yourself or you answer to me."

Both her eyebrows raised and she nodded absently in response as she took in the bar before her. Brynjolf guided her through the bar, taking a quick glance around. Vekel was across the room sweeping absently where he talked with Tonilia. Delvin was seated at his usual table, throwing back mead like it was going out of style. He steered her into a chair across from him and then sat himself. "Del, this here is Eshne. The one I was telling you about a few days ago."

Delvin grinned and Brynjold nearly bit back a groan at the look on the older man's face. He winked at Eshne and she blinked back in surprise. "Hello there Luv," he greeted her. "Bryn here has been talking about you non-stop since he met you. Seems you made quite an impression." When she turned her eyes to him Brynjolf grinned and shrugged. It was true, he had been talking about her quite a bit. Delvin glanced towards the door and a frown creased his brow. "And where is our lovely little Wood Elf?" he asked.

"Business," Eshne responded, leaning forward. "I take it you are the one I need to talk to about the fishing job we did in Whiterun?"

Delvin grinned. "Yes I am, yes I am. How did it go?" Eshne reached into her pack and produced the gold and emerald amulet for his inspection. "Ah, very nice. Here is your cut, Elise's will get hers when she returns."

"Is this the new girl?" Vex's sharp voice cut through the clamor drawing all eyes up to her. Brynjolf gave her a look to be nice and she sneered in response. "Does not look like much to me," she commented.

"Vex, this is Eshne. Eshne, this is Vex. She would be the one you report to on the shill job," Brynjolf explained.

"No need," Vex said, waving a hand to cut off Eshne. She dropped a small pouch of gold on the table. "I already got word that it was taken care of. Come see me when you're ready for more work." With a flip of her hair and a dirty look at Delvin she spun and was gone.

"So, is that it then? Am I in the Thieves' Guild?" Eshne asked.

"Well, you have to meet Mercer first, but that is more a formality," Brynjolf lied. He knew that Mercer would grill her about the Honningbrew job before formally welcoming her. He did not want to scare her off though. "We will go find him after a few celebratory drinks." He waved Vekel over and Eshne smiled politely as she took the mead from him, sipping it lightly. Brynjolf kept an eye on her as he and Delvin began talking, watching as her gaze slipped and she lost herself in thoughts. Something nagged at the back of his mind about her, but he shoved it aside. She has proven herself so far and he suspected she would do great things for the guild.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer in Ch. 1_

"Well hello there Little Fire," the slick voice caught Eshne's attention as she entered the Ragged Flagon and she looked over to see Brynjolf seated at a table by himself. She waggled her fingers at the annoying man and moved passed him to report to Vex on a job well completed. Her bags were bulging with the items from her last job, not to mention the few other stops she'd made on the way. A few quick words with Vex and she turned to glance around. Brynjolf waved at her to indicate she should come over but she ignored him, instead choosing to sit at the bar. She motioned to Vekel to signal for a drink and then reached into her pack to pull out the letter she had received from a courier as she had entered Riften. It was sealed with a stamp of a sun and she knew it was from Linwe, or that Altmer Ass as she had dubbed him in her mind.

She had been in the Thieves' Guild for just passed two months and had received only sparse communication from him and when she did he only asked her for updates and offered little to no guidance on what she should be doing to help bring the Guild down. She fingered the letter and then sighed, splitting the seal and unfolding it. As she expected it gave her no help, no advice, and no orders. If she did not know better, she would think he had given her this job just to get her out of the way. She frowned and shook her head, drawing an odd look from Vekel as she did, but she ignored him and kept reading. Towards the end he mentioned a new job prospect that might prove to be very lucrative. He put in no additional details, simply requested that she send an update and to address it to Niranye in Windhelm who would make sure he got it.

"You know Little Fire," Brynjolf hummed next to her ear, startling her. She folded the letter closed and glanced at him. "If I did not know better," he continued, "I would think you were avoiding me."

She chuckled and took a drink of her ale. "You should go with your gut on this one Brynjolf," she shot back, "I am avoiding you."

He brought his hand to his chest and placed it over his heart, his face taking on a hurt look. "You wound me with your words, Little Fire," he teased. "Whatever did I do to earn such scorn?"

Eshne tapped her chin as if thinking about it. Finally she smirked at him and answered, "Existed." His mouth fell open in shock and she heard Vex and Delvin both start cackling behind them. She gave him a saucy wink and then slid off the stool, taking her mead with her into the Cistern. She rummaged around in her trunk and pulled out a steel bow and some arrows and then made her way to the training room with the hope that nobody would be around to see how terrible she was with the weapon. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the room was empty and set up to practice.

She got halfway through her quiver before she dropped the bow in disgust. Only two of the arrows had struck the dummy and she strongly suspected she was actually getting worse, not better. "Would you like some advice?" the soft voice startled her and she turned to see Elise leaning against the door. Were it anybody else she would have been furious at them for sneaking up on her, but after their few trips together she could not help but feel a sisterly kind of affection for the other woman. Elise had not opened up any more about her past and future, though all things considered Eshne could not blame her. She may have reacted the same way where it her.

"I would love some advice," she groaned as she bent down to pick up the bow, "otherwise anybody I fight will just be able to stand still and wait for me to work myself to death. The only way I will be able to kill them at this rate is if they die of laughter." Elise snorted and Eshne sighed and shrugged, "Unfortunately for me Vex and Delvin have been less than forthcoming with work, so I do not have the extra money to pay for the training."

Elise chuckled. "I know how that feels," she responded and then pushed away from the door and walked over, hand held out for the bow. Eshne gave it over and watched as Elise plucked an arrow out of the quiver and pulled up the bow, barely taking the time to aim before releasing it. The arrow struck the dummy in the head; it would have been a kill shot if it had been a live person standing there.

Eshne stuck her tongue out at Elise. "Is there anything you cannot do?" she grumbled.

Elise laughed. "Yes, several things actually. Now, how about a trade," Elise stated, holding the bow back out for Eshne to take. "Bow for dagger." She nodded towards the small weapons on Eshne's hip.

"I am not that good with a dagger," Eshne started and Elise held up a hand.

"Better than I am I would wager. A trade?" She raised an eyebrow and watched while Eshne considered.

Finally the Nord woman nodded. "A trade then."

Elise grinned and motioned for Eshne to raise the bow. Eshne did so and Elise clucked her tongue as she circled the other woman. "Your stance is horrid," she muttered as she reached out and adjusted Eshne's grip on the bow and then the arrow. "Posture," she scolded, running a strong finger up Eshne's spine and causing her to straighten up in surprise. She shot a look at the Elf who shrugged. "My father used to do that to me when I slouched," she explained. Finally she stepped back and motioned for Eshne to fire at the dummy. The redhead swallowed and focused on the target, tongue poking out of her mouth in concentration as she did. "Do not do that," Elise snapped, startling her. Eshne pulled her tongue back into her mouth and Elise laughed. "Not that," she amended, "Do not close one of your eyes. It will throw your depth perception off. The tongue thing is fine, adorable even. You should do that when Brynjolf is around."

Eshne shot a dirty look at Elise, who only grinned in response, and then looked back at the dummy, allowing her tongue to slip back out and keeping her eyes open. She sighed in frustration after a few moments. "How in Sheogorath's Madhouse am I supposed to line this up if I keep both eyes open? If I look at the target, I get two arrows, if I look at the arrow, I get two targets."

"Do not try and look at both the arrow and the target. Start by looking at the arrow, then follow the point of it and look passed the tip of the arrow towards the target. It will take some practice," Elise replied. Eshne huffed but did as she was told, carefully lining up the shot before letting it fly. It struck the dummy in the abdomen and she grinned. "Very good," Elise said. "Now, do it again."

Eshne obediently raised the bow and began lining up her next shot.

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Brynjolf walked quietly towards the training room. He was not sneaking really, but he did not want to be caught by the women inside if he could help it. Nocturnal help him he had been trying his hardest to play nice with Eshne and get her to warm up to him, but nothing had worked so far. It amused Elise to no end to watch him pine after their newest member. He was known for being a bit of a ladies' man and until now had easily been able to talk any woman he wanted into bed with him. Elise had pointed out to him that he really needed to change his tactics if he was truly interested in Eshne. That advice had been followed by a deathly serious warning that Eshne was under Elise's protection and if he did anything untoward he would wake up one day missing a piece of him that he loved dearly. After that terrible mental image, he had decided it was time to do a little research to see if he could figure out how to get Eshne to be nice to him so that eventually he might be able to get a little affection from the redhead.

He leaned slightly around the entrance to the training room and watched while Eshne practiced with a bow, Elise giving her tips and pointers. After a few moments the Nord stopped and dropped her bow to the ground. "No more," she begged. "You will kill me."

Elise chuckled but nodded. "I agree; that is enough for the day. Your form is much improved." Eshne nodded and sat down on the ground, sighing in relief as she did.

"My arms feel like soggy nirnroot," she muttered, shaking them out. Elise laughed and sat down next to her, turning so that they leaned against each other back to back. They made an interesting sight from where he peeked around the corner. Elise's head barely came up to the top of Eshne's shoulders.

"Soggy nirnroot, huh?" Elise commented, "I always thought it was a bit more like creep cluster vines."

Both women giggled and relaxed back against each other. "Your father taught you how to fire a bow?" Eshne murmured after several moments.

Elise hummed in acknowledgement and leaned her head back, the crown of it resting against the nape of Eshne's neck. "It was just passed my ninth summer when he first took me hunting. I felled many leaves and flowers, wounded one tree, and left many holes in the dirt, but not a single animal."

Eshne laughed and tilted her head back against Elise's, eyes slipping closed. Brynjolf stomped down the flare of jealousy that shot through his gut at the sight of Eshne so relaxed with somebody else. The woman had done nothing but spew sass and vinegar to all the rest of the guild, even going so far as to challenge Mercer at one point. If it had not been for Elise and Brynjolf stepping in she would have at the least been tossed from the guild, at most run through with Mercer's sword.

He watched them for a few more moments before stepping into the room. "Well, you two make a cozy little picture." He drawled, causing both women to open their eyes and look over at him.

"Jealous?" Eshne asked, her voice laced with sleepy happiness and eyes full of contentment.

Brynjolf swallowed at the sight of her looking at him through hooded eyes. "You have no idea," he answered, voice coming out lower he expected. He thought he saw her shiver lightly but was not sure. "What are you up to anyway?" he asked.

Eshne leaned up and Elise followed suit, the two of them rising to look at him. "Practice," Eshne replied. "Which, it is time for some dagger work, you." She elbowed Elise who grinned.

"It is only fair after the work out I put you through." The Bosmer reached down and pulled her daggers from her hip, attempting to spin them and instead launching one across the room and nearly skewering Brynjolf with it. He jumped to the side just in time and frowned at the two of them.

"Wow, you do need some work," Eshne commented and Elise blushed.

"I told you I did. Not just hand-to-hand either, but also stealth attacks. I have seen you in action on both and I am pretty sure you can help me," Elise responded.

"You have been killing on jobs?" Brynjolf interrupted. He knew that Elise was no stranger to taking people out, but she had agreed that on jobs for the Guild she would behave herself.

Both women turned to him and Elise shook her head. "No, but we have done other things while out traveling that do not involve jobs for the Guild."

Brynjolf narrowed his eyes at her. She had sworn to him that she would tell him if she accepted jobs from the Brotherhood. "Other jobs?" he snarled.

"Just the occasional bounty," Elise hissed at him. "Is that acceptable?"

"Okay, so you want to learn sneak attacks?" Eshne asked interrupting the two of them before a fight started. Brynjolf glanced over at her as Elise nodded. Eshne turned to Brynjolf and smiled tightly. "Would you mind helping me out for a moment?" she inquired.

He could not stop the leer that crossed his lips and he winked. "Anything for you Little Fire," he responded and she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, just, stand there," she ordered. He did and she headed out of the room. Brynjolf turned questioning eyes to Elise.

"You really need help with your dagger sneak attacks? How did you manage to get anything done before you came here?" he asked, doing his best to keep the bite out of his tone.

Elise huffed and crossed her arms, turning her nose up at him. "Bryn, you know I favor the bow. I took down all my marks from a distance. I leave the close work for Cicero or Kirsikka. The only reason I have any daggers is because I got the one as a reward from Dagon. I figured if I have it I might as well learn to use it."

Brynjolf made a disgruntled noise and opened his mouth to respond. He barely felt the movement before it happened and then a hand was in his hair, tugging his head back and exposing his throat and the cold press of a dagger was against his skin. He froze, eyes catching Elise and the shocked look on her face. "You should not tease a sneaky Nord with a sharp dagger," Eshne breathed against his ear and he shuddered. Her front was flush against his back, the soft swell of her breasts pushing lightly into his armor. He stayed tense until her fingers slid from his hair and the dagger dropped as she stepped back. "Is that what you need to learn?" she asked Elise.

The dark haired woman's eyes were wide as she looked between the two of them and she nodded. "Yes," she said. "That would be perfect."

He shook himself and ran a hand through his hair. "That is only one way to do it," he said smirking. He motioned to Eshne. "Would you be so kind?" he inquired with a dramatic bow. She rolled her eyes, a small grin tugging at her lips and she tilted her head in acquiescence.

He slipped from the room, sneaking back in moments later as the two of them talked. "What do you need to learn this for anyway?" Eshne asked.

Elise shrugged. "You never know when it will come in handy," she said.

"In general or specifically for you?" Eshne teased.

Elise snickered. "I do not know how effective that attack would be against a dragon," she admitted. The girls laughed and Elise sighed.

"Does Brynjolf know?" Eshne inquired.

"That I am Dragonborn?" Elise questioned. At Eshne's nod she answered, "Yes. He knows I am Dragonborn," she paused for a moment and then added with a whisper, "And about the souls." Brynjolf paused at the sadness in her voice and he berated himself for questioning her earlier. He knew better than any the type of things she was dealing with and to question her motives was a terrible thing to do. He vowed he would help make it up to her.

He slipped in close to Eshne, careful not to make a sound. He rose swiftly, one arm wrapping around her torso and pinning both of her arms to her side. He lifted her slightly, shifting her armor up and exposing a thin strip of flesh at her abdomen. He felt her tense as he slide his dagger lightly against the skin at the top of her pants. He was pressed against her and bit the inside of his lip at the feel of her body against his, even through all the leather.

"Sometimes when the target is too tall for you to get a shot at the throat, or their armor hinders access to it, you need to aim for another area," he murmured across her ear. He heard her draw in a sharp breath and released her, stepping back quickly before she could feel just how much she affected him. He turned to look at Elise, pointedly ignoring Eshne so that he could calm himself. "I still do not see why you are getting training here when you could very easily get it _there_." Even though he knew she needed all the training she could get to deal with the dragons that were plaguing the land, he still hated that she was bringing the fringes of the Brotherhood into the Guild.

"Cicero would never be able to explain anything and Kirsikka prefers blunt weapons. Something about the satisfying crunch of bone," Elise shot back, crossing her arms. "Nazir and Babette do not use daggers."

"If you say so Lass," he responded, turning away from the two of them. He threw one last look over his shoulder. "Happy training Little Fire," he murmured and threw a wink at her before slipping out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer in Chapter 1_

"Damn Elven bitches!" Mercer's voice shattered the relative quiet of the Cistern and startled the guild members inside, including Eshne who was seated on her bed sharpening her dagger.

"What happened?" Brynjolf asked. Mercer and Elise had gone to Snow Veil Sanctum a few days before to deal with whoever had been toying with the guild. Now Mercer was back and it seemed he was alone.

"A trap, a set-up, I knew I should not have trusted that _Bosmer whore_ when you brought her down here," Mercer snarled. Eshne rose from her bed and slowly made her way over to the two men, her blood boiling hot at the slanders Mercer was throwing around about Elise. "We go to the Sanctum to find out who has been trying to destroy the guild, only to find out it was being destroyed _from the inside out_." Eshne's blood froze and she took a step back, eyes darting around to find an escape route. She had not been doing much to take down the guild, but any interception of the correspondence between her and Linwe could spell trouble for her.

"Mercer what are you talking about? Elise has been nothing but a boon since she joined. We are doing much better than before," Brynjolf stated.

"You would think that," Mercer growled. "But then you wanted to jump into bed with her from the moment you saw her, we all know. You may as well admit it." Eshne forced down the stab of white heat that flared through her at the thought of Brynjolf and Elise together and focused on the matter at hand.

"You better start explaining now, Mercer," Brynjolf rumbled back at him.

"Karliah was there," Mercer said and from the gasps around the room Eshne knew that this Karliah was somebody important. "It was a trap. She was waiting for me. That Dunmer bitch had enlisted your dear little Bosmer friend to help lure me there to kill me. They would have succeeded but I threw that bitch into the line of Karliah's shot before it could hit me and then I ran."

Brynjolf was shaking his head. "No," he refused, "I do not believe it."

"Believe what you will," Mercer responded. "I was there, I would know."

Brynjolf ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated gesture and then he looked helplessly around the Cistern before storming to the back entrance and heading up the ladder. Eshne was up the ladder and climbing into the mausoleum after him before she realized it. "Brynjolf," she called at his back and he turned to look at her.

"I am not in the mood, Little Fire," he sighed and began trudging away from her.

She bit back the sarcastic retort that had instantly flown to her lips and ran the short distance to catch up to him and placed her hand on his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. He shook her hand off and kept walking. "Brynjolf please," she called. He paused and tilted his head back towards her. "She is my friend too," Eshne continued. "If you do not want to talk, can I?"

Brynjolf looked at her, eyes carrying an emotion she could not fathom and then he nodded before turning away. She ran to catch up to him, falling into step beside him as the two walked through the dark streets of Riften. Eshne opened her mouth several times but could not settle on something that felt right. She knew deep down it was because she herself was so much like Elise, working to bring the Guild down, though admittedly she was not working as hard as Elise apparently had been. Several things rolled through her mind, quickly dismissed before she settled on, "How did you meet her?"

"Same as you; saw somebody in The Bee and Barb with more money than they should have had," he stated.

Eshne frowned. From what she had seen Brynjolf and Elise shared a closeness that went beyond the relationship the older thief had with anybody else in the Guild. That had to have come from somewhere besides a chance meeting in an inn. "Why do you care for her like you do?" she pressed.

He stopped walking and Eshne glanced around to find that they were standing in a dark corner near the orphanage. He considered her for many moments before he leaned back against the wall, the darkness of his armor causing him to almost disappear completely. "It was a week after she joined, found her right here." He nodded to the corner they were in. "Curled in a ball and sobbing her eyes out. Managed to talk her down and got out of her what it was that had her so upset and helped her work through it." He ran his hand over his face. "Divines I am a fool," he sighed.

Eshne shrugged and looked at the ground, digging the toe of her leather boot into it. "Love makes everybody a fool," she grumbled.

He barked out a laugh, startling her. "Is that what you think Little Fire?" he asked. "That I am in love with Elise?" She looked at him blankly and he chuckled again. "Ah, no, love the Lass like a sister I do, but she is not my type. I tend to prefer my women a little fuller," he stated and she swore his eyes rolled across her from head to toe. "And you, why do you care for her like you do?" he asked. Eshne started and he grinned, teeth shining in the dark. "Not hard to notice," he told her, "except for Vex, Delvin, and me you only talk to your Guildmates out of necessity and even then it is all sass and vinegar. You seem to have no issues getting cuddly with Elise though."

Eshne shrugged and looked at the ground. "I saw her kill a dragon," she stated and then dared to glance back up at him. The shadows that fell across his face made it difficult to see but she was pretty sure the look he gave her was one of understanding. "Do you believe him?" she asked. "Mercer and what he said?"

He shrugged. "I do not know Little Fire," he responded. "Mercer has been Guildmaster for some time and Karliah, well she is bad news." He trailed off and looked up at the sky, taking in the stars. "I cannot bring myself to believe Elise betrayed the Guild though. She is many things, but a traitor is not one of them."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she moved to lean against the building next to him, placing herself between him and the corner so that any guards passing by would not see either of them. "That she is 'many things'?"

Brynjolf snorted and ran a hand through his hair. "It is truly not my place to tell you Little Fire. Just know that Elise has been to Oblivion and back and walks a fine line every day to stay out of it. I do not envy her."

Eshne chewed on her lip for a few minutes, head tilted back so she could look up at the stars, absently picking out the signs she found. She saw Brynjolf shift from the side of her eyes and wished for a moment that she could see him better. "Who is Karliah?" she queried after several minutes of silence.

"She is a thief, one of the best. The old guild master, the one before Mercer, his name was Gallus and Karliah and he were lovers. One day the three of them, Mercer, Gallus, and Karliah all went off on a job and Mercer was the only one who made it back. He said Karliah had turned on them and murdered Gallus and," he trailed off and frowned.

"And he barely made it out alive?" Eshne questioned. "Sounds suspiciously familiar."

"That it does Little Fire, that it does, but we have no evidence and no accusations will be thrown around without proof," he scolded her.

Eshne sighed but nodded in understanding and slumped further against the wall. "What do we do now?" she questioned softly.

"We wait," he stated simply.

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Brynjolf slumped on the stool at the bar of The Bee and Barb, a half empty bottle of mead sitting before him and several other empty bottles lined up next to him. "If you are going to be here all night, pay for a room, otherwise I must ask you to leave," Keevara's raspy voice jolted Brynjolf from his dark thoughts and he looked up at her. She gave him a look and he was pretty sure that if she had eyebrows, one would be raised impatiently while she waited.

"Ah Keevara, let an old Nord drink himself to Oblivion for once," he groused.

She made a noise that sounded faintly like laughter and he glowered blearily at her. "You are far from old," she pointed out, "And if you want to get to Oblivion by overindulging, you are going to need something stronger than Black-Briar to do it." He sighed and slouched further down onto the stool. "Now pay up or get out," she said, though not unkindly. She had mentioned Elise's absence to him earlier in the week and had received a nasty look and mean comment in response. He had nearly gotten himself tossed out of the place permanently and then Eshne had arrived, taking Keevara aside to hastily make excuses for him. She had helped him stumble back to the Cistern, dropping him on his bed to pass out.

He glanced about now, absently hoping that the redhead would show up, but alas she was nowhere to be seen. In fact the only one in common room of the inn besides him was Keevara. He blinked rapidly at the Argonian and frowned. "Time?" he asked.

"Only a few hours until dawn," she answered, smiling lightly. "I would let you stay through, but if I do not get at least a few hours rest I will never make it through tomorrow."

He sniffed and stood, dropping some septims to cover his drinks. "One for the road?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes but reached behind the counter and produced another bottle. "I would not recommend hitting the road in your state," she commented. "It appears the only thing you should be hitting is a bed."

He glanced at her in surprise. "A joke? From you?"

She hummed and smiled again. "Do not tell, it will ruin my reputation," she teased. "Now go."

He took the bottle and held it to her in a silent toast before stumbling to the door and opening it. He tumbled into the street, barely catching himself on the railing of the nearby bridge. He heard Keevara close and lock the door and absently considered picking his way back in just to irritate her, but knew he should not. She had been incredibly tolerant of his attitude and drinking during the week since Mercer had returned from the Sanctum and he felt himself softening just a bit towards her.

He adjusted himself against the railing so that it looked like he meant to lean against it, not that he had fallen upon it. Taking another pull from his drink he sighed, eyes staring blindly at the water below him as his mind again flashed over every encounter he had with Elise since spotting her in The Bee and Barb all those months ago. "I was wondering if she would kick you out eventually." He glanced over and blinked until the blurry shape next to him became Eshne. She was sitting on the railing, eyebrow raised in amusement as she looked at him.

"Could have stayed, but would have needed to stop drinking," he muttered.

She eyed him and the bottle. "You only got one bottle to go, that will not last you until morning," she pointed out. He shrugged and took another drink. She watched him for a few more minutes and then sighed, standing up and throwing her arm around his back, tugging lightly. "Come with me, you need to sleep it off."

He jerked out of her hold, nearly falling over the railing as he did. "No," he grouched. "Cistern is not a place I want to be right now."

"Good thing that is not where we are going then," she said, again wrapping him in her arm and yanking on him. He allowed himself to be pulled from the railing. She shifted so that his arm was around her shoulder and hers around his back. He leaned heavily on her, enjoying the feel of her next to him and inhaled deeply.

"Where we going?" he murmured into her hair.

"Honeyside," she answered, guiding him carefully over the bridge and past Haelga's.

"When did you buy a house?" he asked, voice tinged with hurt at not being told about it.

She chuckled and it vibrated from her chest and into his. "I did not. Elise did. She does not use it often and gave me a copy of the key to use in dire situations."

He tugged away from her, falling against the wall of the house. "Something else she did not tell me about," he muttered. "This is not a dire situation."

"You trying to drink yourself to death is a dire situation, at least by Elise's definitions I think." She unlocked the door and propped it open before turning back to him. "Besides, maybe we can find some answers inside."

That thought more than anything else tempted him to push away from the wall and totter forward through the door. He glanced around after making it in, eyes taking in the small dining area and the larger bedroom immediately next to it. There was a door that probably let out onto a porch and then stairs to a basement. He dropped into one of the chairs and helped himself to a bottle of Elise's mead, amused that it was from Honningbrew. Eshne crept into the bedroom, eyes perusing the bookshelf inside.

"Anything interesting?" he asked.

"No, just a bunch of books and an impressive pile of jewels," she commented. "I could look deeper but I do not want to violate her privacy like that."

He snorted and levered himself up. "Violate her? Are you kidding, Little Fire? After what she did to Mercer? After what she did to the Guild?"

She rounded on him, poking a finger into his chest. "Do not pretend you are this upset because of what she supposedly did to Mercer and the Guild. You are upset because of what she did _to you_. Yes, she betrayed us all, but you two were closer. You were like siblings and now you are just pissed because you did not see it, right?" she asked.

"You do not know anything," he growled out.

"Did you ever think Brynjolf, that maybe _you were right_? That you did not see anything because there was _nothing to see_?" She pressed both palms flat against his chest and shoved him back. "The only proof you have that she did any of this is Mercer's word. I know you have known him longer than I, but if I had to choose one to believe, it would _not_ be Mercer." She turned and stepped away from him, attempting to run her fingers through her hair, only to have them catch due to the braid. She made a frustrated sound and turned back around to face him. "Just, sleep here tonight Brynjolf and think about it. Think really hard." With that she spun away from him and stormed out of the house. He debated going after her to continue the argument but did not, almost too drunk and exhausted to stand, let alone chase her. He glanced at the large inviting bed and then shrugged, tugging off his boots before falling into it and allowing sleep to claim him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer in Ch. 1_

Eshne pressed closer to the wall as she trailed the other three thieves down a long hall. Karliah and Elise had returned earlier and after the terrible surprise that the vault was indeed empty and Mercer gone, the two Elves had joined Brynjolf in planning and Eshne had felt terribly excluded. Especially when Elise had slipped out to do some quick searching at Mercer's house and Brynjolf and Karliah had gotten unnecessarily cozy while they caught up. Eshne was pretty sure Brynjolf had caught her glowering in their general direction but when he waved her over she had turned away and pointedly ignored him from then on.

Now she was sneaking behind them as they made their way through something Karliah had called Nightingale Hall. In the back of her mind a small voice piped up that Linwe would love to know about this but she squashed it. He had not contacted her in ages and if she was honest with herself at this point she would not have been able to betray Elise and the rest of her Guildmates even if he had contacted her.

She peeked around the corner as Elise, Brynjolf, and Karliah entered a room with three raised daises, each one moving to stand on a separate platform. She swallowed a gasp when the shimmering image of a Daedric Prince appeared before them. Pushing back against the wall she listened as Karliah spoke to the Prince, Nocturnal. Eshne dared not to breathe, hoping that Nocturnal would not detect her.

"One final thing Karliah," Nocturnal's otherworldly voice floated out to tickle Eshne's ears. "Once Mercer is taken care of you will step down as Nightingale."

"What?" Karliah's voice was filled with shock as she responded to the Prince. "There must always be three," the Dunmer continued, "If I am to step down how will the Trinity be complete?"

"There is another," Nocturnal sighed, "Hiding just outside these very doors. One skilled enough in Sneak that the three greatest thieves Skyrim has to offer did not detect her. Come, kneel before Nocturnal and receive My Blessing."

Eshne poked her head around the door and saw all three of them staring at her. She meekly walked in, head turned down as she looked up towards them individually. Elise looked thrilled, Karliah upset, and Brynjolf had a neutral look on his face. Eshne turned her eyes up to Nocturnal and then dropped to one knee before the Prince's image. "Your loyalty is fluid; in such a way as to serve you well," Nocturnal observed. Eshne tensed and managed to keep from looking up to see the reactions of the others in the room. "Swear your fealty to me and it will serve you very well, in this life and the next." Eshne bit her tongue to keep from sassing the Daedric Prince. Nocturnal made a sound that could almost be called laughter and stated, "Ask your questions with no fear."

"How will signing myself up for an eternity in Evergloam serve me?" Eshne asked, doing a decent job of keeping the sarcasm out of her voice. A thief she may be, but a Nord she was first and the thought of going anywhere except Sovngarde did not sit well with her.

"You Nords spend too much time and energy worrying about the afterlife and not enough worrying about your mortal life," Nocturnal responded.

"That is not an answer," Eshne retorted before she could stop herself. She heard a stifled gasp from one of the daises and thought perhaps it was Karliah.

"No, it is not. As a Nightingale you will be one of my agents. Personally tasked to serve me directly and in exchange you will receive the favor of the Night. You will become one with the shadows and will never again have to worry about the shift of the clouds over the moon at the wrong time or a misstep drawing the attention of a nearby guard. You will be one of the greatest thieves in Skyrim," Nocturnal supplied.

"And all you want in exchange is my eternal supplication?" Eshne drawled. Nocturnal made a noise that sound a bit like a hum in agreement and Eshne considered the toe of her boot as she thought. She chanced a quick glance around the room. Elise was watching avidly and Eshne knew she would support whichever decision she made, Karliah was glaring at the ground beneath her feet and Brynjolf was staring at her with such an intensity she thought perhaps he was trying to speak to her with his thoughts. Their eyes locked for several moments and then his lips quirked up into a smirk and he winked. She half smiled back at him before catching herself and turned her head back down. "I accept," she responded. She glanced up to see Nocturnal nod once and then the Daedric Prince was gone.

Eshne pushed herself back to standing and looked at the other three thieves in the room. "So where do I get my hands on some of that sexy armor?" she asked, motioning towards the matching sets they were each wearing. Karliah made a sound in her throat that sounded like a dying animal and Elise hurried down the stairs, looping her arm around Eshne and steering her out of the room. Eshne glanced back and saw Brynjolf descend from his own platform and meet Karliah in the middle of the room where he appeared to be comforting her.

Eshne frowned and turned back to look at Elise. "Well?" she asked as Elise guided her back through the halls and into one of the side rooms.

"Well what?" she retorted and then pointed. "There, that is where you get your armor."

Eshne walked forward and touched the stone much as the others had prior to meeting Nocturnal and received her Nightingale armor. "Nothing? No comments? No, 'Great job, now we can do lots of fun things together!', or 'What the hell were you thinking you daft Nordic bimbo?'?" She glanced over at the Bosmer who was eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. The redhead raised her own eyebrows in return before turning back to the examination of the armor; it was light but strong and just brimming with enchantments. She could not wait to try it out.

"Personally I think it is fantastic," Elise answered, startling Eshne from her perusal of the armor. "After all," she grinned and practically skipped over to lean close to Eshne's ear, "this will give you a great reason to spend more time with Brynjolf."

Eshne dropped her armor in shock and looked up at the other woman. "What?" she squeaked. Elise gave her a knowing smile and then turned as the man in question appeared in the door.

"How is she?" Elise asked.

Brynjolf sighed. "She said she was not surprised, but she is upset that she may not get to spend eternity with Gallus. I told her we would figure it out."

"Did not look that upset to me," Eshne muttered as she turned away from the two of them and began stripping off her Guild armor to replace it with the Nightingale. She ignored the choked sound that came from Elise.

"What was that Little Fire?" Brynjolf asked.

"Nothing meant for your innocent ears," Eshne responded sending him a smile saturated with fake sweetness.

"Listen Little Fire, I need a favor," Brynjolf walked over to her, face completely serious. "Go easy on Karliah, she has had a rough go of it."

"And what are the rest of us? Chopped skeever?" Eshne hissed back at him. "Life is hard sometimes, it happens. You know what though? Life also goes on." She turned to storm out of the room.

Brynjolf grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him. "I do not know what you think Karliah has done to you, but you need to let it go, _now_."

Eshne yanked her arm out of his and gave him a haughty look. "I will let go of it when I feel like it," she stated and then marched out of the room.

She headed towards what appeared to be the common area of the hall and found Karliah seated at a table. The Dunmer was scratching absently at the top of it with her dagger, obviously deep in thought. Eshne glanced around and verified that the two of them were alone and then approached the other woman. "I am sorry," she murmured.

Karliah's head whipped around so fast that Eshne heard her neck pop and winced in sympathy. Karliah frowned and shrugged. "You do not need to apologize," she said, "Daedric Princes are fickle on a good day." She turned back to the tabletop.

Eshne chuckled and moved closer. "So I have been told," she murmured. "I mean about your, er, lover. I suppose he was not your husband was he?"

"What do you know of Gallus?" Karliah hissed.

"Only that the rest of the Guild respects him more than their own lives. And some of them value their lives very highly, so that is saying a lot," Eshne answered.

Karliah chuckled and waved her hand, inviting Eshne to sit across from her. "Knowing that bunch, that is quite a compliment. Thank you." The Nord dropped into the seat and nodded her head in acknowledgement of Karliah's statement, but did not say anything. She glanced over to see Elise giving her a look from the doorway.

"By the Nine, Elise," Eshne sighed, "Please swear to Talos you will not tell Brynjolf about this."

Elise placed one hand on her heart and held the other up, but the smirk never dropped from her lips. "As wonderful as it is to stand here and collect blackmail on you, Karliah, Brynjolf and I have a date with Mercer. And some arrows. And a sword. And maybe a dagger or two." She paused and tapped her chin in thought. "And if he is lucky, some poison."

The women all snickered before moving towards the entrance where Brynjolf was waiting. "I will be at the Flagon or Cistern if you need me," Eshne said. She glanced over at Brynjolf. "Try not to get into trouble," she ordered.

A leer crossed his face and he leaned against the rocky outcrop and looked her over. "Worried about me, Little Fire?" he asked.

She grinned. "Why Brynjolf," she cooed, "of course I am worried about you." The leer widened to a smile and she went in for the kill. "After all if you get in trouble then Elise will feel obligated to save you and could get into trouble herself. And we just cannot have that."

The smile dropped from his face and he shook his head. "You are a cruel one," he sighed. "Perhaps you should have been named Eira, it would have been more appropriate."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Eira?"

"You can look it up while at the Cistern. Or ask Rune." He spun on his heel and stalked away leaving Elise and Karliah to hurry after him.

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Elise hefted her pack up higher on her shoulders as she quickened her pace to catch up with Brynjolf. "So, what does Eira mean?" she asked.

He glanced at her from the side of his eyes. "You probably do not want to know," he answered.

"Oh, now I really want to know," she retorted, poking him in the side. "Tell me."

He sighed. "It means ice," he replied.

"Ah," she said and then turned her eyes back to the road ahead of them.

"That's it Lass? Just 'ah'?" Brynjolf asked. She nodded, absently kicking at the rocks strewn across the ground. "Not going to leap to the defense of your friend?" he pressed. She shrugged and sped up until she was a few paces ahead of him and turned around to walk backwards before him.

"It is true, as far as her relationship with you anyway," she stated. "Why would I say anything?" She considered him for a long moment and then smirked. "Why does it bother you so much?" she inquired.

"It doesn't," he answered, drawing laughter from her and Karliah who was trailing along behind both of them. He frowned and could feel his face heating up. He long suspected that Elise had figured out his little obsession but for Karliah to have noticed, it must be worse than he thought.

"Come on Brynjolf, even I can tell it bothers you," Karliah commented, confirming his fears.

"Mostly because I gave her no reason to treat me that way," he retorted, though the excuse sounded weak to his own ears.

Elise snorted and spun around to face forwards. "Never bothered you when Mercer treated you that way," she pointed out.

"He was the guild master, Lass," Brynjolf sighed, continuing to fight a battle he knew he was losing.

"So?" she queried.

"Nocturnal save me from nosey Elves!" Brynjolf exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I like the woman okay?"

Karliah skipped up next to him, a grin twisting her lips despite all the recent happenings. As much as he hated the teasing, he was glad that Karliah was happy, even for a few moments. "You like everybody Bryn," she pointed out.

Brynjolf snarled and stopped walking causing both women turned to look at him. "Fine," he growled. "You want it spelled out for you? I want that woman in every way possible. Not just in bed, but in my life forever and it _kills _me that no matter what I do, I am met with sarcasm and cold indifference."

Elise frowned and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry, Bryn. I did not realize your feelings for her went so deep. I thought you just wanted a tumble and that it annoyed you because she would not fall for your charms." She paused and smiled slightly. "I will talk to her. See if I can get her to warm up to you a little," she said.

He shook her off. "Do not bother," he sighed. "It probably will not help."

Elise shared a look with Karliah before the trio started walking again. "You really do care for her," Karliah asked.

He nodded. "Aye, that I do. At first it was just because I wanted a turn in her bed. It did irritate me that she was immune to my charm. The longer it went though, the more obsessed I became." He shook his head, smiling sadly. "I do not know when my obsession with her became something more; I just know that one day it was more than wanting to lay her. It had become just wanting _her_. Wanting the kind words that I have seen her bestow on only a handful of people, wanting that little grin she gets on her face when she is really and truly pleased with something. Wanting to hold her and protect her and just to be with her."

"By Mara," Elise breathed as she stared at him. "You love her."

He chuckled darkly. "I honestly do not know Lass. I have never been in love, but Mara save me if I am because there is no hope that it will be returned."

Karliah placed a hand on his arm in a show of empathy. "You do not know that Brynjolf. Maybe she is just afraid of being hurt. There is always hope."

Brynjolf snorted and shook his head. "Enough talk of this, we have a treacherous guild master to kill."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer in Ch. 1_

"Ice," Eshne said for what was probably the fifth time during this trip. It had been several weeks since they had been named Nightingale and a handful of days since they had managed to clear out the Twilight Sepulcher and reopen Ebonmere. Eshne had complained about the nickname that entire trip also, in between the fighting. "He thinks my name should be _ice!_"

"I heard you the first few hundred times," Elise muttered.

Eshne ignored her and continued to rant. "How _dare _he call me ice? What have I ever done to him except respond in kind to his remarks to me? Fine!" She threw her hands up and marched through the snow, completely unaware of the fact that she was kicking it all over Elise. "If we get to give each other new names then I think he should be named Skeever Shit! Or maybe The Annoying Nord Pain-in-the-Ass. Or, uh," she trailed off and stopped walking to think.

"You brought it on yourself you know," Elise sighed. Eshne looked over at her and frowned.

"Did you know you are covered in snow?" she asked. Elise raised an eyebrow at her and waited for the comment to sink in. "What in all Evergloam do you mean I brought it on myself?"

"You treat him with nothing but hostility, of course he is going to say you have a heart of ice," Elise stated before turning to continue their trek.

"He started it!" Eshne declared. Elise laughed outright and shook her head at the other woman. Eshne glanced around and frowned. "Where are we going anyway?" she asked.

"Windhelm," Elise responded. "Rumor is there is another set of thieves trying to get a foothold and using unscrupulous means. We are going to stop them."

Eshne froze in her tracks. "What?" she whispered. Elise turned around when she realized Eshne was not following and gave her friend an odd look.

"Are you alright?" Elise asked, coming back to her. Eshne opened and closed her mouth several times, but no words escaped her. Thankfully she was saved by the sound of a dragon attack.

"Sheogorath's ass," Elise cursed and then took off running in the direction of Kynesgrove. Eshne snapped out of her stupor and ran after her, sliding her bow from her back as she did. They found the dragon perched atop what was most likely an inn raining frost down on those beneath it. "Get those people to safety!" Elise ordered and Eshne moved to do so, rounding up villagers and leading them to the relative protection of the trees that were nearby. She heard Elise Shout at the dragon and pull its attention away. Fifteen minutes later and it was all over, the dragon nothing but a pile of smoldering bones and scales.

Eshne watched as Elise scooped up the scales and a few of the bones, sliding them into her bag. She noticed how her friend's hands were shaking and walked up, sliding an arm around her shoulder and leading her into the inn. "We need a room, now!" she yelled. The innkeeper ran over and pulled a key from her apron pocket.

"Of course, of course, anything for the Dragonborn," she said, leading them over to a door and quickly unlocking it. Eshne led Elise in and slammed the door in the innkeepers face, hurrying her friend over to the bed. Elise dropped on it thankfully, immediately curling into a ball and threading her fingers into her hair, holding tight as she began to cry.

"By the Nine, this is a curse," she whispered between quiet sobs.

"What is?" Eshne asked as she calmly ran her hand along Elise's back.

"When I absorb their soul I see _everything_. I live their entire life in a matter of moments and they become a part of me. I constantly wonder how much room I have before there is nothing left of Elise and only dragons rattling around in a shell that used to be Elise." Eshne reached out and pulled Elise up, tugging her over and tucking her into her side before wrapping both arms around her and rocking her like she were a small child.

"How many have you absorbed?" Eshne asked.

"Seven," Elise sniffled. "It is getting rather crowded inside me."

Eshne sat quietly and brought her hand up, fingers teasing through Elise's hair. "Do they, uh, _talk_ to you?" she asked.

Elise giggled and then hiccoughed. "No, they are not living in my body. I just have all these memories now, memories of things I have never seen and never done and they spring up at the most inopportune times and mesh with my real memories. They have tainted everything that I was and are changing everything that I am."

The two sat quietly, the silence broken only by the occasional sniffle from Elise. Eshne thought for several moments before she asked, "What were you before you discovered you were Dragonborn?"

Elise sat up slightly and looked at her. "I was but a simple hunter's daughter from Ivarstead."

"And what would you be now if you had not discovered you were Dragonborn?" Eshne pressed.

Elise opened her mouth to answer only to stop abruptly before any words came out. Her brow furrowed in thought and she looked up at Eshne. "I honestly have no idea."

Eshne smiled softly and squeezed Elise. "Exactly," she said. "Being Dragonborn was something that you had not planned on, but you must adapt to live with it. I did not plan on my parents being murdered by bandits, but once they were I had to adapt or I would have perished. When I was younger I never imagined I would end up in the Thieves' Guild and servant of Nocturnal, but now that I am here I would not change it for anything in Tamriel." She paused and saw that Elise was concentrating, processing what she was saying. "I cannot tell you how to deal with this situation, I am not Dragonborn and I never will be. Surely there are those who can aid you though?"

Elise nodded and muttered, "The Greybeards."

"Have you been to see them?" Eshne asked.

Elise looked up, guiltily. "Only once, I have been mostly avoiding this whole Dragonborn thing."

"Perhaps you should go see them again," Eshne suggested.

Elise sighed. "You are probably right. But after a nap, and after we deal with this whole Windhelm thing," she murmured sleepily before slipping from Eshne's arms and stretching out on the bed. "You know, if you were this thoughtful around Bryn he would not be calling you 'Eira'," she added, her soft voice taking on a teasing tone.

Eshne snorted. "Being this thoughtful is what gets people hurt. I think I will keep the potential pain as low as possible."

Elise rolled her eyes. "Bryn would never hurt you, silly," she breathed out.

Eshne looked at Elise from the side of her eyes. The other woman was nearly asleep but she had to know. "How do you know?" she asked.

Elise grinned, "Just because I know." Eshne made a disgruntled sound but did not respond as Elise had already slipped into a deep sleep.

She rose from the bed and began pacing around the room, thoughts tumbling through her mind like a leaf down a rapid flowing river. She had not heard from Linwe in ages, but something told her these thieves they were going after were the Shadows. She fingered her ring; the one with the symbol of Nocturnal engraved on it, and considered her options. She could run, leave and never come back. That is what she would have done in the past, but now things were different. She was different. She sat down in the only chair in the room and sighed, tugging her hair out of its braid before absently combing it with her fingers.

If she ran she would never see Elise again, or any of the other thieves. She may even have to leave Skyrim for fear that they would come after her. Where would she go? She had no family and no other friends. Running was not an option.

She could lie to Elise and say that she was not feeling well and go back to the Cistern. She glanced over at the woman who slept fitfully on the bed, twisting and turning and mumbling to herself. Elise had done so much for her and had so much pressure on her shoulders. Eshne could not relate in any way to what Elise was going through, but she knew she could not leave her friend, the only true friend she had ever had, alone to deal with this.

That left telling Elise the truth. From everything she had seen so far she hoped that Elise would be understanding and hear her out to the end of her tale. Mind made up she shakily rose from the chair and walked over to rouse the Bosmer.

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"Nocturnal save me from pouting Nords!" Delvin declared, reaching over to shove Brynjolf where he sat moping in a chair. Brynjolf did not respond, just continued to glare at the table like it had insulted his mother. "First Eshne comes in here complaining about ice for near on two weeks and then as soon as she and Elise set off you start moping around," Delvin continued.

Brynjolf raised his eyes to look at the other man. "Eshne was complaining about ice?"

Delvin nodded. "About the time you lot went to deal with Mercer she blew in here and headed straight for Rune. They had a long conversation and when it was over she was storming around muttering something about ice the whole time. You know what she was on about?"

A small smile curled its way across Brynjolf's lips and he shook his head slightly. "Not sure, but I might."

"Care to share?" Delvin pressed.

"Not hardly," Brynjolf answered, eyes turning back down to the table as he thought. "She say anything else?"

Delvin shrugged. "Nah. Well, she may have, but she and Rune took off to parts unknown for a little while, so he would have dealt with her. Really it makes no sense, as a Nord ice should not bother her, right?" Brynjolf frowned when Delvin mentioned that Rune and Eshne had gone off together. He stood from the table, ignoring Delvin's comments, and made his way into the Cistern.

Rune was seated cross-legged at the head of his bed with Sapphire seated at the foot. "Are you sure about this?" he was asking her in a hushed tone. "I mean, do you really think she will like it?"

Sapphire giggled lightly. "Of course she will, Rune! I have seen the way she watches you when she thinks no other is looking. She will be thrilled."

"Rune, a moment please," he barked out. The other thief jumped and hastily flipped his blanket over something that was lying on the bed between him and Sapphire.

"Yeah Brynjolf?" he asked, eyes darting around nervously.

"I heard you headed out for some time while I was gone. Just wondering what you were up to." Brynjolf attempted to keep his tone light though he was sure some of his frustration leaked into his words.

Rune blinked twice and shared a look with Sapphire. "I did. Eshne offered to go with me to speak with this contact of Elise's about my runes. She thought perhaps they were Falmer in origin and this contact knew how to translate it." He shrugged and looked down at his bed. "It amounted to nothing though," he sighed.

Sapphire reached over and patted him on the hand. "At least it eliminated Falmer origins, right?" she pointed out.

Rune gave her a small grin. "True. Anyway I was going to head up there on my own, but she offered to go with me since I translated a name for her." He furrowed his brow. "She never did tell me why she needed to know, but she was very upset after she found out what it was. Muttered to herself all over the Cistern about it before we left."

"Did she say anything about it while you were gone?" Brynjolf pressed.

Rune looked at him oddly and shrugged again. "No, did not mention it again around me except to thank me for providing the translation."

Brynjolf snorted. "And how, exactly, did she thank you?" he snarled.

Rune grinned and Brynjolf thought he heard Sapphire stifle a laugh. "I just told you," Rune stated, "She came with me to Winterhold. Brynjolf, believe me I would never try to go after her. I doubt anybody in the guild would."

Brynjolf straightened and glared at the two of them. "And why, exactly, is that?" he asked.

Sapphire burst out cackling and turned to look at him fully. "Divines Brynjolf," she gasped out. "We all know you want her. She is probably the only one who does not know at this point."

He scowled and looked at the two of them. "Then what is it you are hiding there? Sounded like a gift for her." He pointed at the lump on the bed.

Rune blushed and ducked his head. "It is not for Eshne," he murmured, flipping the blanket back to reveal an old book. "It is a book of children's stories for Constance, very old and rare according to the librarian at Winterhold. I thought she would like it."

Brynjolf frowned. "Constance? The woman who runs the Orphanage now?"

Rune's grin widened and he blushed further. "Yes, that would be her."

Brynjolf swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck. "I see. Well, thank you for the information." He spun quickly and stormed back into the Flagon, ignoring the sounds of Sapphire & Rune's laughter that followed him.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks very much to the reviewers! It's always nice to get feedback on my stories. My muse has been kind of a brat lately and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this chapter, but I liked it enough to post it._

_As always, disclaimer in Ch. 1._

Elise motioned and Eshne slipped around the side of the room, careful to not disturb any of the rocks scattered across the floor. She and Elise had slaughtered their way through the cave and the underground fort that it connected to, easily dispersing the members of the Summerset Shadows. They were now in the last room going after Linwe. The Altmer was across it, hunched over a table looking at some documents.

Elise crept close to him and readied her dagger to drag it across his neck. Just as she was reaching up he spun, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back until she dropped her dagger. He pulled her tight against his chest and glanced around the room. "Come on out," he said. "I know you are there. If you are going to sneak up on somebody you should really learn to not wear scented oils."

Eshne swallowed hard and slipped into the light, rising to her full height as she did. If he was surprised he hid it well. "Well, well, look who returned," he drawled sarcastically. "I must say, I am impressed that you are still alive." Elise shifted in his grip and he tightened his hold, reaching down to draw out a dagger and press it against her neck.

"Let her go," Eshne ordered.

"Divines no," Linwe responded. "You two are not going to sneak in here without punishment. I am surprised that you made it passed all the guards."

Eshne smirked, twisting her wrist and flashing her bloody dagger. "All your guards are dead Linwe. You are the only member of the Summerset Shadows left."

He snarled and pressed his dagger tighter to Elise's skin. "You are still here."

Eshne snorted. "I was never really a member of the Shadows, was I?"

Linwe laughed darkly. "Took you long enough to figure it out," he stated. Eshne hid the flinch of pain at his words when he continued. "I would have gutted you when we caught you sneaking out of here with our loot, but why waste a perfectly good lay?" he asked.

"Why send me to the Thieves' Guild then?" she questioned. "Why not take care of me in my sleep?"

He shrugged. "Honestly I thought they would do the dirty work for me. I figured you would be found out within a few days. Imagine my surprise when you weren't."

"That is why you never sent me information, because you thought they would kill me for you?" she hissed. He nodded and she growled. "You filthy piece of skeever shit, you deserve to rot in Oblivion. I should have known better than to join up with you. You taint the name of good thieves everywhere. You cannot even thieve right, stealing from the dead."

"And yet here I am, continuing to build my name. Shame though, I have to kill you both and then hunt down the rest of the guild since they know about me." He went to draw his dagger across Elise's neck.

"Wait!" Eshne cried out. "Please, let her go. You want to get rid of me, right? She is nobody. Just let her go. If you let her go and leave the guild alone I will stay here willingly."

Linwe sneered at her. "You have nothing that I want anymore." He again moved to pull the dagger across Elise's neck and Eshne saw red, hand gripping dagger as she moved across the room.

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"Are you alright?" Elise's voice broke through the fog that had surrounded Eshne and she slowly turned to look at her. Elise was crouched down in front of her, a concerned look on her face. Gradually the rest of the world filtered back through to her and she looked down to find her hand still wrapped tightly around the dagger that was buried hilt deep in Linwe's chest. His blood stained her hands and armor and was spreading across the floor. His eyes stared blankly up at her and she turned and vomited. She could feel Elise's hand on her back as she emptied her stomach and she stayed still as the memories of the last few hours resurfaced in her mind.

"Eshne?" Elise asked and she tilted her head in acknowledgement.

"I am okay," she rasped out. "Are you?"

"Fine," Elise responded. "Come on, we need to move." She tugged the girl up and the two of them hurriedly crept back through the fort and cave. They met no other resistance and easily slipped outside. Elise moved ahead and led the way, allowing Eshne time to collect herself.

"Your hair!" the redhead cried suddenly, reaching up to run fingers through Elise's dark hair. It looked like it had been roughly chopped off, the ends frayed and uneven.

Elise ran a hand through her shorn locks and quirked a comforting grin at Eshne. "It was either the tail or my head," she responded. "Besides, I kind of like it like this."

Eshne made a strangled noise and suddenly pulled the other girl into a tight hug. She felt Elise grin and then released her reaching up to rub the back of her neck in embarrassment. Elise did not comment, simply turned and began heading back towards civilization.

"What are we going to tell everybody?" Eshne asked, "We kind of botched the whole thing up."

Elise shrugged, "We got the necklace and removed the Shadows from Skyrim. Nobody said how we had to do it."

"We murdered an entire cave full of people!" Eshne cried, "We are not the Dark Brotherhood!"

"Speak for yourself," Elise responded. Eshne started and gave her an odd look but Elise continued before she could comment. "It is no different than murdering bandits. Any Nord will understand what we did once they find out those thieves were defiling the dead. Besides, the guild never asks questions once the job is done." She smirked and added, "We should go to Jarl Ulfric for a reward for dealing with them. We are doing him a service after all."

"You are not serious," Eshne said. Elise shrugged but did not comment further as she navigated the terrain.

"We should tell Brynjolf though," Elise sighed. "As one of the Trinity, he should probably know."

All the questions brewing in Eshne's mind cleared and she looked over at Elise. "You can tell him," she declared.

Elise was shaking her head before Eshne even spoke. "You will tell him. It is _your_ history."

"Good thing Karliah is still around then, you will need a new Trinity member by the time he is done with me," Eshne muttered.

Elise giggled. "First, Nocturnal makes that call, not Brynjolf. Second, he will understand Eshne. Trust me."

Eshne sighed deeply. "Fine," she groused, "but you had better give a nice eulogy at my funeral."

Elise laughed loudly and reached over, pushing on Eshne's shoulder lightly. "Promise," she stated.

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Brynjolf looked up from the desk at the sound of singing echoing through the Flagon and into the Cistern. He frowned and tilted his head as several off-key lyrics floated through the hall. It sounded like somebody was decimating the Dragonborn song. The singing dwindled off and he turned back to the books in front of him. There were only a few moments of silence and then a loud cheer broke out. Sighing he pushed himself up from the desk and stormed over to the Flagon's back entrance.

"What in all Skyrim is going on out here?" he bellowed as he walked into the bar. At the counter Vekel was doling out drinks to everybody around, which was a good portion of the guild. Delvin was seated at a table with Elise and Eshne, both of whom seemed completely pissed.

"Celebration!" Elise shouted, bouncing up in her seat. "The Thieves' Guild is back and we rule this country!" she declared. She paused momentarily and turned to look at Eshne, deadly serious. "Not with an iron fist though, that would be mean." Both women nodded solemnly and then dissolved into giggles.

He could not help the grin that cut across his face. "So I should wait until tomorrow to ask for details then?" he asked.

Elise swallowed her drink of mead quickly, nearly choking on the liquid and leaned forward. "No, no. Eshne here will tell you _all_ about it." She pushed the Nord woman and gave her a look that was about as subtle as a dragon. Eshne's face flamed slightly red and Brynjolf smiled.

"Vekel, do not let her drink anymore," he commented.

Elise frowned at him. "You are not my father and I am a grown woman." Then she turned to Eshne. "Go on," she urged, pushing her lightly.

Eshne groaned and rose from the chair, walking towards him. "Come on then," she sighed, "somewhere private we can talk?"

He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Little Fire, if you wanted to get me alone, you only had to ask," he teased.

She opened her mouth to retort, probably something nasty, but a quick cough from Elise had her pursing her lips and glancing up at him. He grinned at her and she shook her head, a small smile crossing her lips as well. "You are terrible," she groused. He winked but did not deny it, instead turning to lead her into the Cistern.

There were a few members hanging around and he called out, "Drinks on Elise in the Flagon if you hurry." The remaining members filtered out quickly and he led her over to Mercer's old desk and sat down in the chair, leaning back and propping his feet on the desk, ignoring the paperwork that was stacked there. "Well Little Fire," he asked. "What is it you need to tell me?"

She paced back and forth before him, wringing her hands and glancing at him several times. She opened her mouth a few times, but no words were forthcoming. Instead she would pause, shake her head, and continue her pacing. He said nothing; simply kept an eye on her while he waited for her to center herself and start. Finally she sighed and sat against the edge of the desk, her back facing him. "Elise and I murdered an entire cave of thieves," she muttered.

He dropped his feet from the desk and leaned forward, the chair creaking under him as he did. "What was that now?" he asked, sure he had misheard her.

She inhaled deeply and picked her head up, turning to half face him. "Elise and I murdered an entire cave of thieves," she repeated, louder. He did not answer, just looked at her as he processed this information. "What?" she asked, defensively.

He shrugged and leaned back in the chair again, crossing his arms over his chest. "I would have expected that from Elise what with her being part of the Dark Brotherhood and all," he commented lightly, "But I am a bit surprised at you."

Eshne looked shocked. "Elise is part of the Dark Brotherhood?" she murmured.

He ignored her and shifted a bit in the chair. "Why did you do it?" he asked. Generally speaking murder was frowned upon by the Thieves' Guild, it was why the Dark Brotherhood existed, they handled the killing and the Guild handled the stealing. If she had a good reason though, it could be overlooked.

Her face paled and she turned slightly away, looking down at her hands. "I had to," she murmured.

A weight lifted from his shoulders. If she had to then it could easily be explained away. "Why? Were they threatening you or Elise?" he questioned.

She inhaled shakily and looked at him and he could swear there were tears on her lashes but in the dim light it was hard to tell. She stood from the desk and turned, threading her fingers as best as she could into her hair around her braid. "Brynjolf," she started and then stopped, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut.

He rose from the desk and crossed to stand in front of her, reaching up to untangle her fingers from her hair and pull her hands down. He squeezed her hands and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Little Fire," he murmured and heard her voice catch. "Just tell me," he continued. "Whatever it is, I promise I will not bite you." He paused and a leer crossed his lips. "Unless you want me to that is," he added.

She gasped lightly and the look in her eyes changed and he bit his tongue to keep himself from capturing her lips with his. She inhaled and her eyes stayed locked on his. "Brynjolf, the group we took out was the Summerset Shadows and I used to be a member of them." Her words picked up speed as she talked, until she was nearly tumbling over them in her haste. "The leader sent me here to infiltrate the Thieves' Guild and help destroy it. He told me that anyway. Really he was just trying to get rid of me. He thought I would get caught and be eliminated and he would not have to sully his hands. If we did not kill them all we would have risked one of them coming after me for revenge."

She finished and looked up at him, eyes luminous in the dim light. For his part he was frozen, a million thoughts flying through his mind but only one coming into focus, that he had been betrayed by a woman he cared about again. He released her hands and turned away, fingers rubbing at the headache that was forming behind his eyes though he really wanted to rub his chest where his heart suddenly ached. To find out about her betrayal, so quickly on the heels of Mercer's, made it hard for him to not send her from the Cistern forever. His heart felt like it had just shattered, a feeling that he was unfortunately familiar with and had at one point swore he would never experience again.

He sensed her move and tensed, thinking she would touch him. Instead he heard her voice, high pitched and broken; she was obviously on the verge of tears. "Brynjolf please, say something."

He flinched; hating that he had hurt her and hating her for making him feel this way. He shook his head. She was just another woman, full of betrayal like all the rest. It was why he kept them at arm's length, kept his relationships simple. Divines he was a fool. "What would you have me say, _Eira_?" He spit the name at her like a curse and heard her gasp.

"Nothing Brynjolf," she snarled. "Not a damn thing." He heard soft steps running across the room and the slamming of the back entrance and then she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry for the delay in updating. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer in Ch.1_

Eshne sat on the roof of Riftweald, eyes focused on the western horizon as the sky's color shifted from dark blue to light blue. She heard a creak behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Elise picking her way across to her. The other woman did not speak, simply sat down next to her and leaned against her side, silently lending her strength.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked after some time.

"No," Eshne responded. "I do need to get out of here though. Got any jobs you would be willing to give up?"

Elise giggled and Eshne glanced at her. "I forgot you were not in the Cistern last night. I have tons of jobs I could give you now. They made me Guild master."

Eshne blinked and then grinned widely. "It is about time," she declared. "Well then, oh esteemed Guild master, give me a job. One that will take me far, far away for a little while."

Elise glanced up at the sky, eyes shifting as she thought. "Have you ever been to Solstheim?" she asked.

Eshne's nose wrinkled. "No. Why in Oblivion would I ever go there?"

"Because it is decently far away and we have a job there. Delvin's brother lives out there and has sent word that he needs a good thief." The Bosmer leaned forward, hands braced on the edge of the roof and glanced down at the ground below them. "I was going to send Cynric and Vex, but I think you and Cynric will work out better. That okay?"

Eshne shrugged. She had not really bothered to get to know most of the other thieves, unsure for a long time if she would be around. Brynjolf's attitude aside, she now planned on being with the Guild for a while. It was probably time to get to know her fellow thieves. "Yeah," she answered. "Sounds good. When do we leave?"

"Pretty soon," Elise replied though she sounded distracted. Eshne looked at her, watching warily as Elise leaned farther over the edge of the building. "Ever thought of what it would be like?" Elise asked suddenly.

"What? Plummeting off a building to my death?" Eshne retorted.

Elise shook her head, a strange smile tugging at her lips. "No, flying," she replied. "I have so many memories now of flying, of stretching long wings and soaring through the clouds. I almost wish I could do it myself."

Eshne grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Well you cannot. Maybe you should go see these Grey people again. They can probably help you figure out how to keep those memories in check."

Elise's eyes shuttered and she frowned. "I know. I am afraid though. This whole Dragonborn thing. It has to be something big, right? I doubt the Divines gave me this power just for fun."

"Probably, but if you do not go you will never find out. You will just live your life in fear," Eshne countered.

Elise sighed. "You are probably right. I was just named guild master though; I cannot go running out on the organization so soon. I already did that once." Eshne raised an eyebrow in question and Elise shrugged. "I am the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood," she said. "We went through some upheaval only a few months before I joined the Thieves' Guild. We had only been settled in our new home for a month and contracts had just started coming back in when I left."

"Why did you leave?" Eshne asked, watching closely as Elise leaned forward another time to look over the edge of the building.

"I was spending more time living in the memories of dragons than I was living as myself. I went to the Greybeards. They taught me some things about controlling it. They probably would have taught me more if the enormity of the situation had not crashed down on me and sent me running in the middle of the night. Brynjolf found me in the inn and offered me salvation by way of distraction. One that, normally, does not involve murder," she explained. "I have been in contact with my Family, but have not been back."

Eshne grabbed Elise and yanked her from the side of the building again. "Think about going back to the Greybeards," she said. "Before you throw yourself off a mountain in an attempt to fly and just end up a spot on the ground."

"Maybe," Elise said, shrugging. "Come on, we should find Cynric and then you two can be on your way. It will give some time for things to blow over."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Brynjolf growled as he attacked the dummy in the training room, throwing himself completely into training. He had nearly worked out his anger when the sound of a pick snapping reached his ears and he spun to find a new recruit kneeling in front of one of the practice chests. "What are you doing?" he snarled, startling her.

"Uh, practicing?" she replied.

"Did you not see that the room is occupied?" he rumbled, advancing on her quickly.

"Sorry," she stammered meekly. "You were practicing with your daggers, so I thought I could." She trailed off as he leveled a glare at her. "I will just come back later," she squeaked and then disappeared down the hall.

He grunted and knelt down where she had been, quickly working open all the locks on the chests. It would be a few days before Vex figured it out and relocked them, but that would be a few days without recruits bothering him.

He turned back to the practice dummy and went after it with a vengeance. "You know," a soft voice startled him and he glanced back to see Karliah leaning in the doorway, "If you want to hurt somebody I bet Elise could kick a Brotherhood contract your way."

"Stow it," he grunted, shoving his daggers into the dummy with a satisfying thunk and then turning to face her. "What do you want?" he asked.

"You to lay off the newbies. You will scare them all away and undue all of Elise's good work," she answered and then frowned. "What has you so angry anyway?" she asked.

"Nothing," he grumbled.

"Liar," she replied. He ignored her and yanked the daggers from the dummy and then dropped onto the low step, pulling a whetstone from his pouch to sharpen them. She hovered over him and then sat next to him. "What happened to you Bryn?" she asked quietly.

"Excuse me?" he snapped.

She paid no attention to his tone of voice and continued speaking. "You were such a happy go lucky kid. Not a care in the world, willing to take on anything thrown your way, willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, when nobody else would. What changed?"

"I grew up," he bit out.

She frowned and reached out to place a delicate hand on his wrist, stopping his movements. "I know you better than that," she said. "The Brynjolf I remember would never use women like you do now. You believed in relationships, in cultivating something real." She smiled and her eyes drifted as she continued, "You were our biggest supporter, me and Gallus. It meant a lot to both of us that you believed that we could make it, when nobody else did."

He yanked his arm away from her and stood abruptly. "Like I said, I grew up. Realized that there's no such thing as love, not that kind of love anyway," he said. "Who can say if you and Gallus would have lasted anyway, not like we will ever know." She inhaled sharply and he knew he had gone too far but he was beyond caring at the moment. He stormed from the room and out of the Cistern, ignoring Elise's call as he climbed the ladder and inhaling deeply once he was outside.

He glanced around for a place to hide, knowing that Elise would be following him as soon as she found Karliah. His eyes drifted to Riftweald and his lips curled up.

IiIiIiIi

Brynjolf was more than halfway through a bottle of fine imported Cyrodiil brandy when she found him. He was sprawled across the bed that used to be Mercer's. He had found the bottle, beaten some of the dust from the bed and then gotten down to the business of drinking. It was the easiest way to force buried memories back where they belonged.

Elise crossed her arms in the doorway as she looked at him. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" he slurred back at her.

"Give it up. You know why I am here," she retorted, stepping forward and yanking the bottom from him. "Spill."

"Not your business," he snarled, swiping for the bottle.

She sighed and placed it on top of the dresser, well out of his reach. "Brynjolf, we are friends, right?" she asked quietly.

"Not right now," he grumbled.

A small grin quirked her lips and she moved to sit next to him on the bed. "But other times, right?" He shrugged and eyed the brandy, wondering if he could beat her to it. "So why do you never talk to me?" she questioned. "You know more about me than anybody else does and yet, I know very little about you. I have watched you and Eshne interact and I would have bet money that you wanted something substantial with her, that you would have been willing to hear her out and work through all the stuff with the Shadows."

"Well, you were wrong. Now get out and give me my brandy," he growled, shoving at her leg.

"No," she stated. "Not until you tell me what is wrong with you."

"I do not want to talk about it," he said.

"Talking helps," she retorted. "Or so you told me when you found me."

He sighed and rolled over in the bed, burying his face in a pillow. "Go away."

"Never." Her simple statement caught his attention and he looked over at her.

"Why?" he whined.

"Because you are my friend Brynjolf. You are like the brother I never had. I hate seeing you like this. You have helped me time and again, let me help you," she said.

He slumped down onto the bed and was silent for a long time. She shifted, pulling her legs up to sit cross-legged next to him and waited patiently, not moving, not speaking, just waiting. "It was maybe three months after everything happened with Mercer, Gallus, and Karliah," he said finally. "She blew into the Flagon like a breath of fresh air. It had been so rough. Once Mercer came back, half dead and telling stories about Karliah's betrayal the guild split. There was a lot of fighting and people lost their lives. Times were tense and jobs were few and far between and getting even worse. Then she showed up, Jeena."

He rolled onto his back and allowed the memories he normally kept suppressed to wash over him. "She was something. A Nord woman who had been raised by Bosmer, she was a born thief. She even managed to get her fingers into Mercer's pockets once," he said, grinning slightly. "And Divines was she ever beautiful. And funny. And sweet. A real package. And I loved her." The pain of the memories hit him in the stomach and he sat up, surprised when Elise held the bottle out to him. He took it gratefully and threw back a drink before he continued. "I had been with a couple girls before. I was a horny teenage boy, not like I was going to turn that down but Jeena, she was different. I wanted more than just a few nights of fun. I wanted to spend time with her, go on jobs with her. At one point I even imagined having a family with her."

"What happened?" Elise asked quietly.

"We got together and it was amazing. It did not matter that the guild was failing fast and that Mercer was becoming obsessed with his search for Karliah. All that mattered was her." He ran his hand over his face and looked up at Elise. "Then I found her with another man, a thief who had been with the guild maybe a few weeks. They were going at it hot and heavy right in the middle of the practice room. It turned out they had been together for a long time and were trying to play a scam over on the guild. They had heard about what happened and were going to use the opportunity to rob us blind." A dark grin twisted his lips. "Mercer did not take too kindly to that. Ran him through and told her if he ever saw her in Skyrim again she would meet the same fate." He took another drink. "Pretty sure he only spared her life because of me."

"Oh Bryn," she sighed and then moved to her knees, pulling him in a tight hug. "Not all women are like that," she said.

"Yeah, right. First woman I let myself have any kind of feelings for since then and it turns out she only joined the guild to destroy it. No. Women are good for one thing and one thing only," he declared.

She released the embrace and stepped off the bed. "I am going to ignore that because you are drunk and reliving painful memories. I am telling you though Brynjolf, not all women are like that, especially Eshne."

"Yeah right," he muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "Come see me when you are done wallowing," she ordered and then left.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks for the reviews and new favorites/follows! Enjoy :-)_

_Disclaimer in Ch.1_

Eshne tapped her chin, eyes turned up towards the leaves overhead as she thought. "I do not know. What _do_ you call a Khajiit who does not lie, cheat, or steal?" she asked.

Cynric grinned widely. "A dead Khajiit," he stated. Eshne's jaw dropped and then she laughed.

"Do not let Elise hear that one," she said between giggles. "Okay, I have one." He motioned for her to continue and she smirked. "What does a new Imperial private learn first as a combat technique?" she asked.

His eyes turned to the path under their boots as they walked and he thought. Finally he shrugged. "I give, what?"

"To retreat!" she exclaimed and both of them laughed.

"Well, well, you look rather cozy," a voice called from overhead and they glanced up at the guard tower to see Sapphire perched there.

"What are you doing out here?" Cynric called. The other woman grinned and slipped from their sight, appearing moments later at the bottom of the tower.

"Nothing now. Elise got the message from Delvin's brother that you were successful and she wanted me to watch for you," she answered.

"Why?" Eshne asked. "Everything okay?"

Sapphire shrugged. "If you do not count Brynjolf walking around like a moody teenager, yeah everything is fine."

At the mention of his name Eshne's heart twisted painfully. She and Cynric had been gone for three weeks dealing with Solstheim and she had done a good job of not thinking about the red-haired Nord man. The only problem was that not thinking about him meant not working through her feelings. She glanced up at the city and then back at Sapphire. "Any chance you could lie and say you never saw us?" she asked.

Sapphire grinned. "Nope. Elise was pretty insistent." Eshne sighed and then dutifully trudged towards the city. "You look like you are being led to the gallows," Sapphire commented. "Cheer up. You two were having a good time earlier."

Eshne shrugged. "I had done a good job of forgetting our last run in. I am not looking forward to our next one," she replied.

She ignored the look that Sapphire shared with Cynric and then the other woman spoke, "A Nord man killed his wife after catching her in bed with another man. When the Jarl questioned him as to why he killed her instead of her lover the man replied, 'I considered it better to kill one woman than a different man every week!'."

Eshne bit her lip and glanced over at Cynric before joining him and Sapphire in laughing. The three continued into Riften and around to the back entrance. Eshne waited until they were all down the ladder and then held her hand up. "My turn," she said. "A necromancer and a Draughr walk into the Temple of Mara. The priest stops them and says, 'We do not do those kinds of marriages here.' The Draughr looks up and says," Sapphire grabbed her arm and the two finished the joke together. "No, I want a divorce!" They all three started laughing again and Cynric threw his arm around Eshne's shoulder, steering her towards the desk where Elise sat, eyebrows up near her hairline at the sight of them.

"I take it the job went well?" she asked, leaning back, a small grin on her face.

"Yes," Cynric answered. "Your girl here is a great partner. We not only finished the job, but made off with most of the gems in the town!" He shook the pouch in his hand for emphasis.

"Very nice," Elise said. "Go and see Delvin about your cuts. Eshne, I would like to talk to you later."

"Sure thing, boss," Eshne replied as Cynric dragged her off towards the Flagon.

They walked into the hall, still in high spirits and giggling when Brynjolf suddenly loomed in front of them. "Well, you look _cozy_," he sneered.

Eshne flinched back but Cynric tightened his arm against her shoulder. "Problem?" he asked. Eshne fought to slip from his grip and he held on firmly, not allowing her to move.

Brynjolf looked between them, lips curled in disgust. "Not at all," he said finally. "Would not get too invested in this one though, Cynric," he added. "She is just as likely to run you through as she is to sleep with you."

Eshne jerked as if he had slapped her. "It is not like that," she said faintly.

His eyes rolled over the pair of them, lingering on Cynric's hand that was clutching her shoulder so tightly she was sure it would bruise. "Sure looks like it from here," he snarled. "Not sure why I am surprised. You spread your legs pretty easily for the leader of the Shadows. Too bad our Guildmaster is a woman now right? Or does it matter? Maybe you will spread those legs for her too?"

The sound of her hand striking his face echoed through the Cistern. All conversations stopped and she heard the noise of the others coming to investigate. She stood there, fists clenched as she trembled with rage. Brynjolf turned to look at her from where his face head had twisted under the force of her blow. "Upset because I am right?" he asked.

She screamed and started after him, only to be held back by Cynric and Sapphire. "Get her out of here," Elise ordered before rounding on Brynjolf. "What is your problem?" Eshne heard her hiss as Cynric and Sapphire yanked her back through the Cistern. They pulled her outside and led her towards Honeyside.

"Are you okay?" Sapphire asked as she opened the door and let them in. She looked at Cynric and motioned with her hands. "Get out of here, girl time only." He frowned but obediently left.

"No," Eshne answered honestly. "I am not okay. I do not know if I ever will be again." She dropped down onto the bed and sighed.

"He is just jealous," Sapphire said.

Eshne snorted and lay down, curling up on herself. "I doubt it," she muttered. "Just, can I have some time alone please?"

Sapphire nodded and let herself out of the house as the tears began to fall from Eshne's eyes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Brynjolf woke when he heard whispering and murmurs.

"What are you doing?" came a voice to his left. He fuzzily thought that it might be Karliah.

"Do not worry about it, just give me that bucket." That one was definitely Elise.

There were several loud clangs and he snarled, "Some of us are sleeping here." The noises quieted down and he buried his head in the pillow. He refused to answer Elise the night before, instead hiding out at Haelga's Bunkhouse before sneaking back into the Cistern. He had finally fallen into bed shortly before dawn and then his sleep had been plagued by nightmares that he knew were brought on by guilt.

"What is that for?" Another female voice, perhaps Sapphire? His only coherent thought was that they needed to shut up so he could sleep.

"It needs to be cold, but not frozen. I wish my magic skills were a little better." He heard the crackle of ice magic and grunted. The sounds shifted a little away and he settled back into his bed.

"Visit Winterhold then."

"Been there. Well, the town, not the college. Not exactly a happening place."

"Just saying, if you want more help with your spell casting, that's the place to go."

"I'd rather take lessons from Wylandriah. There, that should do it. Move."

"You are not serious." Sapphire sounded a bit panicked.

"I am, now stand back, let me do it."

"Fine, your funeral." There was a slight scuffling and footsteps that neared him.

He groaned and rolled over in bed, burrowing into the pillow more. He smiled when the sound died off and was just drifting back to sleep when a bucket of ice cold water was turned over on him. He shot up with a bellow, wiping at his face and swiping to try and grab the perpetrator. "What in Nocturnal's name did you do that for?" he roared as he grasped for his blanket and used it to dry off his face. He opened his eyes to find Elise standing there holding the bucket with a grim smile on her face. "You better start talking now Lass, I do not care if you are the guild master," he snarled. He vaguely realized that most of the guild was gathered behind her but he ignored them.

"Consider this your wake-up call, Bryn," she said, tapping lightly on the bucket. "If you want I can fill it back up and do it again."

"You could have woken me up in a different manner," he groused and continued using the blanket to dry himself off.

"No," she responded. "You really needed to feel the _ice_."

He looked at her when she said it and snorted. "I have no need for it," he growled.

"Why?" she asked, walking up to him. "Tell me why, exactly, Brynjolf, you feel like you do not need it anymore? The entire Guild has noticed that you are not the same. Meridia's tits even the new recruits have noticed!"

"I have no use for traitors or whores," he rumbled, turning away.

She grabbed his arm and spun him back around, pushing him down onto the wet bed. "How did she betray you exactly? When she helped me take over the meadery? When she backed up Sapphire on that sweep of the palace? When she offered to help Rune find his past? Or maybe it was when she agreed to stand with us against Mercer. Was that when she betrayed us? Oh no, I know, it was on the Pilgrim's Path, when she put her life on the line for the good of the Guild. That must have been it."

Brynjolf opened his mouth to talk but she kept on speaking. "Or maybe it was when she told that trash leader of the Summerset Shadows that he was a filthy piece of skeever shit that deserved to rot in Oblivion because he tainted the name of good thieves everywhere." She inhaled deeply and leaned forward so that they were nose to nose. "Or maybe it was when she offered her own life in exchange for mine and the safety of the rest of the Thieves' Guild. Was _that_ when she betrayed us Brynjolf?"

She inhaled sharply, really on a roll now. "And a whore? You have had way more sex than she has." Her finger came up to jab at his chest. "Are you upset that she was being chummy with Cynric yesterday? Divines above you really are blind. Cynric is involved with Sapphire you moron!"

His face was pale and he was breathing rapidly and she could tell he had every muscle in his body clenched tightly. "I told her you would listen to her. I told her you would understand. Talos damn you Brynjolf." She stormed out of the Cistern and he was left to sit on his soggy bed, blanket clutched tight in his hands as the rest of the guild pretended they had not heard what just happened.

Brynjolf tilted his head to the side to glance at Karliah. "Is all that true?" he murmured.

Karliah shrugged. "According to Elise the leader of the Summerset Shadows managed to grab her and had a knife to her throat. Eshne offered herself in exchange if he would swear that the Thieves' Guild would be left alone. When he refused Eshne gutted him like a fish." He sighed and looked down at his hands. Karliah reached out to touch his shoulder. "Elise told me about Jeena," she murmured. He glanced up sharply and she held her hands up. "She said I deserved to know after what you said to me and she was right. It helped me to understand. She was also right when she told you that not all women are like that. I think you could be really happy Brynjolf, if you just let yourself be."

He looked around and noticed the other guild members giving him looks that ranged from pitying to angry. "I messed up royally," he stated, glancing at Karliah.

"On a scale of one to ten, this is about a thirty," Karliah responded. "Lucky for you, I believe Elise will be willing to assist you if you want to make it up to Eshne. After some groveling of course."


End file.
